Nikon D850 vs Canon 5D IV: Is Canon getting walloped?

Nikon took the wraps off the Nikon D850 early this morning and it didn't take long for photographers to wonder how it compares to the Canon 5D Mark IV. In short, the D850 beats the Canon on nearly every spec.

Looking at a specs-only comparison is not fair, and not always indicative of real-life shooting situations. However, we can't help look at the specs of the two and draw some conclusions as to which camera will win over the most photographers.

Specs Comparison between 5D Mark IV and D850

Spec

Nikon D850

Canon 5D Mark IV

US Price

$3,296

$3,499

Megapixels

45.7

30.4

Burst

9 frames per second with grip, 7 without

7 frames per second

Video

4k

No 4k unless you're at a 1.74x crop factor. No 4k HDMI out.

ISO

64-25,600

100-32,000

Auto-Focus

153-point (Same as D5), with 99 cross-type and 15 can be used at f/8

61 autofocus points

Sensor tech

Back-side illuminated sensor with no AA filter

Traditional design with AA filter

Buffer

51 RAW photos at 7 fps before buffer filled

21 RAW (With CF card, much fewer with SD)

Touch to focus?

Yes

Yes

Memory

SD and XQD

CF and SD

Battery performance

1840 still images

900 still images

Wi-Fi

Yes

Yes

GPS

No

Yes

Timelapse

Available in-camera with 8k mode

Built-in intervalometer only

Illuminated buttons?

Yes

No

LCD Size

3.2" with 2.359 million dots

3.2" with 1.62 million dots

Optical Viewfinder

.75x magnification

.71x magnification

Silent Shutter

Yes

Yes

Focus bracketing

Automatically takes images for a focus stack, but does not combine them in-camera

Manual only

Tilting LCD?

Yes

No

Weight

915 grams (with battery)

890 grams (with battery)

Who is the Overall Specs Winner?

In this specs comparison, the Nikon is cheaper, has 20% higher resolution, has significantly better video capabilities, has a tilting LCD screen, its battery lasts for nearly twice as many photos, and it has a much beefier buffer.

That isn't to say that the Canon 5D Mark IV is in any way a slouch of a camera. It's an absolutely awesome camera in use. Everything from the touch screen to the excellent wi-fi implementation, to the image quality is fantastic.

However, on paper and only reviewing the specs (which isn't totally fair), it's tough to come to any conclusion other than the fact that the D850 absolutely wallops the Canon 5D Mark IV.

In the remainder of this review, I hope to bring out some of those points where the Canon shines even though it may not be reflected in the specs.

Pricing

I was pleasantly surprised to see that Nikon undercut the price of the Canon 5D Mark IV. I expected Nikon to match Canon's price. The D850 is $200 cheaper than the Canon.

However, the camera is only part of the system. I also wanted to see what it costs to purchase the camera, and the lens trinity (16-35 (14-24), 24-70, and 70-200 on both systems). I wanted to get as close to an actual street price as possible, so I'm going off average pricing on Amazon over the last few months.

Item

Nikon Price

Canon Price

Camera (D850 or 5D Mark IV)

$3,296

$3,499

16-35mm f/2.8 lens for Canon, and 14-24mm f/2.8 lens for Nikon

$1,896

$1,999

24-70mm f/2.8 lens

$2,396

$1,749

70-200mm f/2.8 lens

$2,796

$1,949

Total Price

$10,384

$9,196

The above comparison isn't entirely fair. The lenses may have the same focal lengths, but they aren't the same lenses, so the price isn't always the same; however, it gives you a fair idea of what a pro photographer would pay for a kit in both camera systems.

While Nikon's camera may be $200 cheaper, the Nikon lenses have spun out of control in terms of the pricing. They have priced their lenses SO high that they are setting themselves up for photographers to begin defaulting to the third-party Sigma lenses instead of paying the Nikon tax.

Video

Remember just a few years ago when photographers flocked to Canon if they were interested in video? The 5D Mark II was such a fantastic video camera that photographers went crazy on DSLR video. Now? Videographers are flocking the other direction.

Canon has Nerfed the video capabilities on its DSLR cameras. Some say it's just Canon falling behind, other say they are just trying to protect their C-series video cameras. Personally? I am concerned that this is just a sign of Canon falling behind.

Canon's 1Dx camera uses a generation processor that is older than the processor in the newer 5D Mark IV. Yet, the 1Dx does 4k video.

The truth is that Canon is holding back its technology and intentionally giving us a worse camera–not to save money on a processor or hardware–but simply to force us to pay more. Can you imagine if the iPhone had a faster processor, but intentionally slowed it down so we'd have to buy a Mac? That's how insane this is.

GPS

With nearly every camera released over the last 5 years, there are rumors that it will have built-in GPS. Then, when the camera is finally released, they pull out on GPS.

A GPS chip to include in a camera costs less than $10. Yet, many manufacturers are not including this feature which would be a tremendous benefit to landscape and travel photographers.

I was extremely happy to hear that the 5D Mark IV would have built-in GPS. This should be standard in every single camera produced, and I'm disappointed in Nikon for failing to include GPS. Especially for a guy that just released an iPhone app of the best photo locations in the world, GPS in cameras is important to me.

Resolution

Every time I say anything about resolution, I hear tons of comments that essentially say “We don't need more resolution. I can already print as big as I want.” In my opinion, this is the wrong way of looking at it.

10 years ago, I heard people saying that 12 megapixels wereplenty. Right now, the computer screen I'm on (retina iMac) is almost 15 megapixels. So now, all those photos from years ago when 12 megapixels was “plenty” can't even fill my screen.

But there's a limit, right? At some point, our eyes just can't make out any finer detail, right? Well, yes. That's true. Most people can't even tell the difference between a 5k screen and a 2.5k screen (See the proof on this Youtube video).

However, what this doesn't consider is computational photography. Increasingly with each year, we are able to do edits on photos that were not possible before. Simply capturing the most amount of data today, I believe, will make your portfolio images last much longer. I am not insane about capturing data, but if I'm on a shoot that I know will make it into my portfolio, I make it a point to focus stack the image and bracket the image. Then I have so much data that I have little doubt that image will look great even by the standards of imagery we'll achieve in 10 years.

Another thing that isn't considered enough about resolution is being able to crop. I can't even count how many times I've shot something that I liked in camera, but significantly cropping in later produced a better photo. Remember shooting the eclipse with your 70-200 because you didn't have a long lens? Not a problem if you are shooting 40+ megapixels (speaking from personal experience here).

Conclusion

Frankly, most photographers feel locked in their current camera system, even though most photographers could switch brands without losing any money. So few Canon die-hards will suddenly switch to Nikon over this change; however, I personally think the D850 is so good that it'd be worth it for some photographers to switch over.

There is barely any incentive to shoot the Canon 5D Mark IV over the Nikon D850.

Comments

I ordered the D850 on the morning that it was announced so I’m hopeful I’ll get one in the first batch of deliveries on 7th September. Though I’ll be upgrading from the already super D750, there a few new or upgraded specifications on the D850 that I cannot wait to try out.

Your review seems to be quite biased, and you went out of your way to warp the facts to suit your narrative. You have highlighted all of the advantages of the Nikon and have omitted any advantage of the Canon. I haven’t shot the Nikon yet, its obviously a great camera from the specs, but I like to read unbiased material.

Canon Video: No 4k unless you’re at a 1.74x crop factor. It does have 4k, the article should read: Yes, with a 1.74x crop factor. Dual Pixel Autofocus in video: Nikon No, Canon Yes. This is a huge plus for the Canon, the autofocus in video is simply in a class of its own. Autofocus: You don’t give any detail on the Canon AF system. The Canon has 21 cross-type AF points at f/8, more than the Nikon at f/8. Timelapse: The Canon has both the intervalometer and in camera time lapse at 4. The information provided in the article is incorrect.

Hopefully you will be able to amend the article and provide more objective and correct information.

As a Canon non-pro shooter, I fully agree with you. Nikon announced an outstanding camera and while we have to see how it performs in tests and how is the production quality, D850 made me to think upgrading to D850 instead of 5D IV. I thought 5D IV was a good product when it came out, but D850 made me rethink that notion. I will definitely visit a Nikon store and test D850 out. Learning a new camera UI takes always time, but I think Nikon has the edge in cameras at the moment. It is just all the gear you have and buying new ones.

The most childlike comparison I have read so far, with a lot of small errors, yet with the most important views on how Canon deliberately tries to slow down the development and hopefully will feel bad about doing so. And when Sony soon releases the next generation of 7. It should be obvious that development has gone a lot longer and faster than Canon predicted. Canon you have NOT reached the stage that your Cameras are good enough for not wanting to look or change brand. And with the new 6D Mk II, you’re scaring very many who had expectations high after 80D, which was still pretty good when it came. But the new 6D with a worse sensor than the old one? ???? And so much more. How is Canon thinking about this? It’s a mystery. If I were the owner of the Canon brand, I would be ashamed and really dismiss all those who had been involved in recent years’ decisions. -“Oh, so nice weather, shall we go out and photograph?” – “No! I can not, I still use Canon and have to wait until it’s a little cloudy, because the dynamics are so bad on the sensor.” I still use my Canon 5D Mark II And the next Canon 5DsR II Will probably decide If I jump to Sony or stan. I dont think that Canon will do anything better with the video. But I hope for a much better sensor and a Camera that not feels old before I get it in my hands. I will not be the first in line to buy and after that understand how bad it is. Good luck Canon You ned it. :/

I been using Nikon since my old tank Nikon F3 Hp, and I love it. So many time I went to look Canons, I’d love to have some of the lenses and on used marked you find so much more, at least where I live, but can’t. I had high hopes for the Canon 6 D Mk 2, but that camera is a completely disappointment. One can get the 2 years old Nikon D750 for a lot less than the 6D Mk 2 and yet, have a lot better camera, way better Dynamic Range, etc… Since I was hoping the price on the D750 would drop a bit more, I wait and man oh man, it’s was worth it, I’ll get the D850, it’s the most versatile camera Ever, from any manufacture. It’s a little to0 big and bulky for my small hands, but it’s a trade off. Thanks for your review, it did help me to make up my mind.

The Nikon looks awesome but I just don’t think it matters that much when one factors in some of the glass and differentials in price and availability. I’d rather have a fantastic lens attached to a dog of a camera than the other way round. Canon glass is good and it is priced well, especially if you need the big tele’s. I think if you haven’t bought many lenses yet or you are concentrating on less expensive ones then the Nikon system may be a good way to go at the moment. It really all depends on where you are starting from as to which system you go for…No denying that I am jealous of these specs tho! I will be sticking with my current Canon bodies as I don’t feel the 5Div and 5Dsr offer enough improvement. Looking forward to seeing what they respond with.

If you’re trying to decide what’s better in the debate of Canon vs Nikon, then getting one persons opinion will only put you on their side. Choosing one is very tough and if you invest in one you don’t like early on, you’ll have made a very expensive mistake.

Improve Photography LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We also participate in affiliate programs with Bluehost, ClCJ, ShareASale, and other sites. We are compensated for referring traffic.